Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Kiribati instead of New Zealand, you would:
Health
live 15.4 years less
In New Zealand, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Kiribati, that number is 67 years (65 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2024.
be 34.0% more likely to be obese
In New Zealand, 34.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Kiribati, that number is 45.6% of people as of 2024.
see 92.8% less spent on your healthcare
New Zealand spends $5,576 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Kiribati spends $401 as of 2023.
have 43.5% less access to essential health services
New Zealand scores 85 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Kiribati scores 48 as of 2021.
be 46.6% more likely to die by suicide
New Zealand has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Kiribati, it is 17.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
make 94.8% less money
New Zealand has a GDP per capita of $49,591 as of 2025, while in Kiribati, the GDP per capita is $2,559 as of 2025.
Life
have 2.3 times more children
In New Zealand, there are approximately 11.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Kiribati, there are 25.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 11.4 times more likely to die during childbirth
In New Zealand, approximately 7.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Kiribati, 80.0 women do as of 2023.
be 9.7 times more likely to die during infancy
In New Zealand, approximately 4.0 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Kiribati, on the other hand, 38.8 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 20.9% less likely to have access to drinking water
In New Zealand, approximately 100% of people have access to drinking water (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Kiribati, that number is 79% of people on average (90% in urban areas, and 64% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 3.1 times more on education
New Zealand spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Kiribati spends 16.4% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Geography
see 92.4% less coastline
New Zealand has a total of 15,134 km of coastline. In Kiribati, that number is 1,143 km.
Infrastructure
find 99.9% less home broadband
New Zealand has 38.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Kiribati has 0.0 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 90.2% less CO2
New Zealand emits 6.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Kiribati emits 0.6 tonnes as of 2024.
be 4.1 times more likely to die from air pollution
In New Zealand, air pollution causes 12.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Kiribati, it causes 49.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: New Zealand vs. Kiribati
Kiribati: At a glance
How big is Kiribati compared to New Zealand? See an in-depth size comparison.